Champiñones al Ajo Cabañil

Spanish mooshrooms with vinegar and garlic. The original recipe is here, but the traditional Spanish method has certain terminal flaws that I attempt to redress in this recipe that follows.

Srsly. In the original recipe, they say: serves 4pax. Then they say: take twelve button mooshrooms. I know that tapas is a thing that some people do, but jesus, come on.

So. With some tweaks, we do it thuswise:

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Champignones whatsit

Mooshrooms with garlic and vinegar

Course Appetizer, Side Dish, Snack

Cuisine Spanish

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 2

Author pajh

Equipment

• mortar and pestle
• frying pan

Ingredients

• 1 pkt button mushrooms chestnuts are good, cheap ones from Lidl are also good.
• 1 pinch sea salt or use whatever salt. Salt is salt. I'm not picky and nor should you be.
• 3/4 cup vinegar Yeah, the vinegar you use is going to have an effect on the finished dish. I'll cover this in the comments on the method, if this stifling framework is gonnae let me. White wine vinegar is traditional. Use that if you don't want to read any more of my rambling shit.
• 1 slosh olive oil A good healthy slosh, mark you.
• 8 cloves garlic For a packet of mooshrooms, use about half a head of garlic, but y'know, that's according to personal taste, so you do you. More or less as you prefer. But don't be stingy. Garlic is good for you.
• 1 tbsp lovage because lovage is awesome. The original recipe suggests parsley, but that just tells you why the Spanish never succeeded long-term at being a world power.

Instructions

• Wash and trim a packet of button mooshrooms, then cut them neatly into halves.
• Peel, split and deshoot an appropriate amount of garlic. This recipe is called "mushrooms with garlic and vinegar", so don't think you can skimp on the garlic. I tend to use a full head of garlic per 400g (two packs) of mushrooms, and no one has ever complained, including my vampire friends. They know the score.
  
• Get the garlic cloves into a mortar (as in, and pestle) with a healthy pinch of sea salt, and mush them up all good likes.
• Add herbs. About a tablespoon of lovage is good. Parsley is traditional, but fuck that, because lovage is far superior. I've tried adding other herbs and/or spices at this stage, and it doesn't help. KISS.
• You can do this bit directly into the mortar. Add about half a cup of vinegar. White wine vinegar is suggested, but I like to use about four parts apple cider vinegar (with the mother left in, go on, you know you want to) and one part black Chinkiang vinegar, to give it a bit of fermented malty goodness.
• Get a frying pan reasonably hot with a good healthy glug of olive oil in there.
• Throw in them mooshrooms. Toss them about so all of that oil gets absorbed. Now let them cook for a little while on the offside.
  
• Flip them all so they are cut side down. Cut side down. This bit's important. Now let them cook for a while on this side. You want ten–fifteen minutes, depending on the temperature of your pan.
• Leave them where they are for a bit. No fiddling. Five minutes, probably ten, depending on your pan and how well they absorbed that oil. What you're looking for is a nice crust on the cut side of your mooshrooms.
  
• Now, throw in there all of that delicious vinegar-garlic mixture. Mix it around a bit, but gently, so that the mooshrooms all remain cut side down.
  
• Let them cook until all of that delicious sauce is absorbed. Shoogle them around gently (gently!) every once inna while if you feel that you must, but do not disturb their orientation.
  

Scoop ’em out into your favourite serving dish. They work great as a side or as a starter. They’re good when they’re hot, but they work well cold, too.